Package



.Filed Nov. 14, 1966 Sheet July 1*, 1969 6 J. P. REPKQ 3,453,661

' PACKAGE INVENTOR JOHN P. REPKO ATTORNEYS July 1, 1969 J. P. REPKQ3,453,661

PACKAGE Filed Nov. 14. 1966 Sheet Of 5 INVENTOR 44 45 JOHN P- REPKOATTORNEYS July 1, 1969 I J. P. REPKO PACKAGE Filed Nov. 14, 1966 Sheet 3FIGJI INVENTOR JOHN P. REPKO ATTORNEYS J. P. REPKO July '1, 1969 PACKAGESheet Filed NOV. 14, 1966 FIGJZ INVENTOR JOHN P. REPKO ATTORNEYS UnitedStates Patent 3,453,661 PACKAGE John P. Repko, Midland, Mich., assignorto The Dow Chemical Company, Midland, Mich, a corporation of DelawareFiled Nov. 14, 1966, Ser. No. 593,941 Int. Cl. B43k /14; 865d 33/00,83/00 U.S. Cl. 401--132 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A packagecomprising a hermetically sealed compartment having compartment Walls ofheat scalable, flexible material, the compartment being adapted tocontain a spreadable material. A stiffener attached to at least one wallof the compartment.

This invention relates to novel packages and methods of theirmanufacture. More particularly, this invention relates to novel packagesfabricated from heat-scalable material and adapted to contain aspreadable material. The packages of the present invention areespecially useful as disposable, single-portion, single-application,consumer packages.

In the past few years, single-portion packages have found wide consumeracceptance because of their convenience in storage and use, and theirdisposable nature. However, problems of providing a convenient means fopening these packages and of spreading their contents has retardedwider use. For example, in packages containing comestibles such asmustard or catsup, the consumer opens the package and squeezes thecontents out of the package and onto an edible substrate such as coldmeat, bread or a hamburger. The problem then remains of spreading thematerial, for if the sandwich is constructed without first spreading thematerial certain portions of the sandwich will be over-spiced, whileothers will be completely devoid of flavoring. Separate spreaders suchas knives of wood or plastic, or other material, can be used. However,these Spreaders are not always at hand and, if disposable, areexpensive. Furthermore, these packages are not easily opened. The commonopening means is a notch and/or partial perforations across one end ofthe package. This is to enable the consumer to grip the body portion ofthe package in one hand while tearing from the notch or along theperforations with the other hand. This means of opening the package hasnot proved altogether satisfactory, because the force necessar to 1 openthe package frequently results in an uneven tear which does not, infact, open the package or results in excessive pressure which causes thecontents to extrude out the opening and onto the hand of the consumer.There has, therefore, been a heretofore unfilled demand forsingle-portion packages which are easily opened and which are providedwith means for spreading their contents.

It is an object of the present invention to overcome the disadvantagesof the prior art and to provide a novel package which may be easilyopened.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a novel packagewhich is provided with a means for spreading its contents.

Still another object of the present invention is to provide a novelpackage which may be easily manufactured without extensive modificationof existing package making machinery.

These and other objects of the present invention will become apparent byreference to the following description and drawings, wherein:

'ice

FIGURE 1 is an elevation view of a package representing one embodimentof the present invention;

FIGURE 2 is a sectional view of the package of FIG- URE 1 taken alongline 22 of FIGURE 1;

FIGURE 3 shows various outlets which can be used with the package of thepresent invention;

FIGURE 4 shows the step of opening the package of the present invention;

FIGURE 5 shows the step of applying the contents of the package to asubstrate;

FIGURE 6 shows the step of spreading the material on the substrateemploying the package of the present invention;

FIGURE 7 shows another embodiment of the package of the presentinvention;

FIGURE 8 is a sectional view taken along line 8--8 of FIGURE 7;

FIGURE 9 discloses still another embodiment of the present invention;

FIGURE 9A discloses yet another embodiment of the present invention;

FIGURE 10 discloses a further embodiment of the present invention;

FIGURE 11 is an expanded partial cross-section taken along line 11--11of FIGURE 10;

FIGURE 12 shows a preferred method of making certain packages of thepresent invention; and

FIGURE 13 shows a preferred method of making certain other packages ofthe present invention.

Referring now to the drawings and more particularly to FIGURES 1 and 2,there is shown a package 20 comprising a first sheet 21 of substantiallyplanar, heat-sealable material, and a second sheet 22 which is asubstantially planar sheet of the same or a different heat-scalablematerial as the first sheet 21. The first sheet 21 and the second sheet22 together define an integral, hermetically sealed compartment 23. Thecompartment 23 is conveniently defined by selective heat-sealed areas,shown in FIG- URE l by the cross-hatched areas, around the periphery ofthe compartment 23. Attached to either the first sheet 21 or the secondsheet 22, but preferably to the first sheet 21, is a flexible stiffener24, the purpose and function of which will be more completely describedbelow. In a preferred embodiment of the present invention the stiffener24 is narrower than the sheets 21, 22 and is attached to these sheets insuch a manner that the centerline of the stiffener and the centerline ofthe sheets are substantially coincidental. In this manner, the sheets21, 22 extend equidistantly beyond the stiffener 24.

The package 20 is provided with an outlet 25 which provides a means forremoving the spreadable material 35 from the compartment 23. As shown inFIGURE 3, the outlet 25 may be in many different forms such assubstantially circular, as represented by outlets 26, 29, 30, 31, ornon-curvilinear, as represented by outlets 32, 33. The circular outlet26 comprises a separate and discrete portion 27 of the sheet 22. Thediscrete portion 27 is attached to the sheet 22 by two relatively smallbridging attachments 28 which are at the top and bottom of the outlet26. Oher forms of substantially circular outlets 25 are the circularhole 29, the elliptical or oval outlet 30, and the semi-circular outlet31. Examples of non-curvilinear outlets 25 are represented by adiamondshaped outlet 32 having two bridging attachments and a seconddiamond-shaped outlet 33 having four bridging attachments. Thesubstantially circular outlets 26, 29, 30, 31 are the preferred forms ofoutlets because of the ease of manufacturing and maintaining themachinery adapted to fabricate the packages of the present invention.The substantially circular outlet 26 is the most preferred out let.

The outlet 25 is provided with a cover 34 which, preferably, extendslaterally across the entire package from edge to edge and extendsvertically from a point below the outlet 25 to the uppermost edge of thepackage 20, The cover 34 is coated with a pressure-sensitive adhesiveand closes the outlet 25.

In FIGURE 2 a spreadable material 35 is shown in the compartment 23.Examples of spreadable material 35 which can be placed in the packagesof the present invention include comestibles such as mustard, catsup,sauces of all varieties, jellies, jams, and honey; medicines such assunburn ointments, petroleum jellies, burn ointments, salves, and thelike; cosmetics such as shampoos, face creams, body creams, and thelike; as well as other spreadable or semi-fluid or pasty materials suchas adhesives, glues, and the like.

Referring now to FIGURES 4, 5, and 6, there is shown a method forutilizing the novel package of the present invention, illustrating anumber of the advantages thereof. In FIGURE 4 there is shown a package20 having the preferred form of outlet 26 in which the discrete portion27 is attached to the sheet 22 by reason of the bridging attachments 28(see FIGURE 3). To Open the outlet 26, the consumer holds the package 20upright and grasps the cover 34, exerting a force on it to cause thecover 34 to separate from the sheet 22, which it does readily. However,by reason of the cuts, the discrete portion 27 does not separate fromthe cover 34, but rather remains attached to it by reason of thepressure-sensitive adhesive coating on the cover 34. As force iscontinually applied, the bridging attachments 28 rupture and thediscrete portion 27 is removed from the package 20 with the cover 34. Asshown in FIGURE 5, the consumer then inverts the package 20 and byapplication of gentle finger pressure extrudes the material 35 from thecompartment 23 through the outlet 26. During this extrusion operation,the stiffener 24 aids in holding the package 20 straight, provides afirm foundation for the application of the above-described fingerpressure, ensures even extrusion of the material 35, and preventsbending of the package 20 which otherwise might permit the consumersfingers to contact the material 35. As shown in FIGURE the material 35is extruded onto a hamburger patty 36 supported on a hamburger roll 37.

As shown in FIGURE 6, the material 35 is then spread evenly onthe'surface of the hamburger 36. During this operation the stiffener 24adds the desired support to the package 20, thus precluding the collapseof the package and ensuring even, effortless spreading of the materialto form a uniform coating. As previously described, the cover 34preferably extends across the entire package. By reason of thisarrangement the portion of the package 20 underlying the cover 34 iskept free of contaminants during storage and handling. This arrangementis especially important when the spreadable material 35 is an edible ormedicinal material.

Referring now to FIGURES 7 and 8 there is shown an embodiment of thepresent invention represented by a package 40. The package 40 comprisesa first sheet 41 of a substantially planar, heat-scalable material and asecond sheet 42 of the same or a different, substantially planar,heat-scalable material. The sheets 41, 42 define a hermetically sealedcompartment 43 which is adapted to contain the aforementioned material35. The package 40 comprises a compartment portion 44 and a spreaderportion 45. In the compartment portion 44, the first sheet 41 isheat-sealed to the second sheet 42 in selective areas as shown by thecross-hatched area in FIGURE 7. The selective areas of heat sealingdefine a compartment 43. In the spreader portion 45, the first sheet 41is heatsealed to a stiffener 46 and the stiffener 46 is heat-sealed tothe second sheet 42. The spreader portion is detachably attached to thecompartment portion 44 by reason of a line of weakness. The preferredform of this line of weakness comprises a series of perforations 47defining a series of relatively short bridging attachments 48 (FIG- URE8). Other forms of lines of weakness such as punctures, partial cuts orheat-weakened areas which readily permit the separation of thecompartment portion 44 from the spreader portion 45 can be used. Afterthe spreader portion 45 is detached from the compartment portion 44, andafter the package has been opened and the spreadable material 35 hasbeen placed on the substrate, the spreader portion 45 is used to spreadthe material 35 on the substrate, in the same manner as previouslydescribed with reference to FIGURES 4, 5, and 6. The package 40 can beprovided with a notch 49 to facilitate opening of the compartment 43.

Referring now to FIGURE 9 there is shown a package 60 similar in mostrespects to the package 40 but having a stiffener 66 detachably attachedacross the top of the package 60 by a relatively small, heat-sealed area67 shown by the cross-hitching. The stiffener 66 is removed from thepackage 60 by applying a force suflicient to rupture the heat-sealedarea 67. The stiffener 66 is then used as a spreader, as describedabove. The embodiment of the present invention represented by thepackage 60 can advantageously be manufactured by a machine whichmanufactures packages by applying the stiffener 66 from a roll ofmaterial which is fed in the direction shown by the arrow 68.

Referring now to FIGURE 9A there is shown a package 61 similar in mostrespects to the package 60 but provided with a different opening means.The opening means of the package 61 consists of a line of weakness 62 inthe compartment walls which extends from one edge of the package 61 tothe other edge of the package 61. The heatsealable areas which definethe compartment 23 are such that a portion of the compartment 23intersects the line of weakness 62. By tearing the package 61 along theline of weakness 62 the compartment 23 is opened. The package 61 isprovided with a stiffener 63 which is attached to the package 61 byheat-sealed areas 64 which can be coextensive with the area of contactbetween the stiffener 63 and the package 20.

Referring now to FIGURE 10 there is shown an embodiment of the presentinvention represented by the package 7 0 which, in most respects, islike those previously described, except that one sheet, for example thefirst sheet 71, extends a short distance beyond the other sheet, forexample the second sheet 72. A stiffener 76 is attached to the portionof the first sheet which extends beyond the second sheet 72. Theembodiment of the present invention represented by the package can beused when the sheets 71, 72 have a laminated structure in which an innerlamina is heat-scalable and the outer lamina is not heat-sealable. Anexample of such sheets is one manufactured of cellophane bonded topolyethylene.

In FIGURE 11, an expanded, partial cross-section across line 1111 ofFIGURE 10, there is shown the first sheet 71 constructed of aheat-scalable lamina 73 and a non-heat-sealable lamina 74. In FIGURE 11there is also shown the second sheet 72 constructed of a heat-scalablelamina and a non-heat-sealable lamina 77. As shown in FIGURES 10 and 11the package is constructed with the heat-sealable lamina 73 of the firstsheet 71 in contact with and selectively heat-sealed to theheat-sealable lamina 75 of the second sheet 72. By reason of thisconstruction and by reason of the extension of the first sheet 71 beyondthe edge of the second sheet '72, there is exposed a portion of theheat-sealable lamina 73 of the first sheet 71. This portion isheat-sealed to the stiffener 76. In manufacture, the entire stiffener 76can be pressed against the above-described structure, during theheatsealing operation, however, the stiffener 76 will only heatsealwhere it contacts the heat-sealable lamina 73 of the first sheet 71 andnot where it contacts the non-heatsealable lamina 77 of the second sheet72. The stiffener 76 is easily separated from the package 70 bysufficient pressure to either rupture the heat-sealed bond between thestiffener 76 and the sheet 71 or separate the heatsealed area of thesheet 71 from the remainder of the same sheet 71. The stiffener 76 isthen used as described above.

The method of use of the packages 40, 60, 70 is substantially asdescribed above for the package 20, except that the stiffeners 46, 66,76 are detached from the rest of the package prior to spreading thematerial 35 on the substrate to be coated, and preferably, but notnecessarily, prior to opening the package. Thus, the method of usecomprises detaching the spreader, a stiffener 46, 66 or 76, from thepackage, opening the package, emptying the material 35 onto thesubstrate to be coated, and finally spreading the material 35 on thesubstrate by use of the spreader.

Referring now to FIGURE 12 there is shown an apparatus 80 adapted toproduce a package in which a first and a second sheet of a heat-sealablematerial define an integral compartment, such as the embodiment of thepresent invention as represented by the package 20.

A first web 81 of substantially planar, heat-scalable material isadvanced at any convenient rate of speed from a source such as a roll(not shown). The first web 81 is advanced in the direction of the arrowthereon past a cutter 82 which is adapted to cut the first web 81 toform an outlet 25 such as those described above or as shown in FIGURE 3.When the outlet 25 formed by the cutter 82 constitutes the preferredoutlet 26 shown in FIGURE 3, the bridging attachments 28 shown in FIGURE3 are formed in juxtaposed relationship to one another along the runninglength of the first web 81. While the first web 81 is cut in the mannerdescribed by the cutter 82, it is to be understood that the cutting ofthe first Web 81 may also be accomplished by hand.

As shown in FIGURE 12 a second web 83 of the same or a different,substantially planar, heat-scalable material is advanced at a linearrate of speed equal to the linear rate of advance of the first web 81.The width of the first web 81 is substantially equal to the width of thesecond web 83. As the first web 81 advances in the machine direction asshown by the arrow, the outlet 25 is covered with a cover 34 having acoating of pressure-sensitive adhesive. The cover 34 can conveniently besupplied in the form of a roll 84 of cover material 85. Cutting means(not shown) can be provided to cut the cover material 85 coming from theroll 84, thus forming a cover 34 of any desired length.

The prior art filling and heat-sealing apparatus, which can be modifiedto practice the method of the present invention, is provided withheat-sealing means, shown schematically here as blocks 90 and 91. Anyconvenient heat-sealing means such as contra-rotating rolls which willproduce the packages of the present invention and/ or practice themethod of the present invention can be used.

As can be seen by reference to the paths followed by the first andsecond webs 81, 83, the second web 83 forms the first sheet 21 of thepackage 20 and the first web 81 forms the second sheet 22 of the package20.

A third web 86 of heat-scalable stiffener material, which is narrowerthan the first and second webs 81, 83, is advanced from asource such asthe roll 87 at a linear rate of speed equal to the linear rate of speedof the first web 81 and the second web 83.

The first web 81, the second web 83, and the third web 86 are broughtinto substantially parallel, juxtaposed alignment, such that the firstand second webs 81, 83 extend equidistantly beyond the third web 86, orstated differently, the centerline of the third web 86 is substantiallycoincidental with the centerlines of the first and second webs 81, 83.At this point several operations are carried out concurrently. The firstweb 81 is heat-sealed to the second web 83 in selective areas around theoutlet 25, thus forming a compartment 23; the compartment 23 is filledwith a spreadable material 35 via the conduit 88; the third web 86 ofheat-scalable stiffening material is heat-sealed to at least a smallportion of the second Web 83. In th above-described manner, packagessuch as the package having a stiffener 24 and containing a spreadablematerial 35 are formed. The packages 20 thus produced in a continuousstrip may be severed from one another by any suitable cutter means (notshown) or may be left in roll form, separated from one another by a lineof weakness such as a row of perforations 89 to permit easy separationat some later time, as for example just prior to use by the consumer.While the invention has been described by reference to a single stationapparatus 80, multiple station apparatus are also contemplated withinthe scope of the present invention. The method shown may be practiced ina multiple station apparatus by simply extending the sheet 21, 22 in thetransverse direction and providing a plurality of cutters 82, rolls 84,87, and conduits 88, etc.

The steps of the above-described method of the present inventionillustrated in FIGURE 12 can be practiced in any order which willproduce the desired results. It is only critical that the outlet beformed in the first web 81 before the cover 34 is attached and that boththese operations be performed before the package 20 is filled. Thestiffener 24 may be attached to the package 20 after formation of thecompartment 23 but is preferably concurrently attached to eliminate theneed for a second heatsealing step.

Referring now to FIGURE 13 there is shown an apparatus 92 suitable forpracticing the method of the present invention and especially suitablefor producing the embodiments of the present invention represented bythe packages 40, 60, .70. The method will be described with reference toproduction of the package 40.

A first web 93 of substantially planar, heat-scalable material isadvanced in the direction of the arrow thereon at any convenient rate ofspeed from a source such as a roll (not shown). A second web 94 of thesame or different, substantially planar, heat-scalable material isadvanced at a linear rate of speed equal to the linear rate of advanceof the first web 93. The width of the first web 93 is substantiallyequal to the width of the second web 94.

A third web 95 of heat-sealable stiffener material which is narrowerthan the first and second webs 9'3, 94 is advanced from a source such asthe roll 96 at a linear rate of speed equal to the linear rate of speedof the first web 93 and the second web 94. While the third web 95 may beon the outside of either the first web 93 or the second web 94, it ispreferably between the first web 93 and the second web 94 as shown inFIGURE 13. As can be seen by reference to the paths followed by thefirst Web 93, the second web 94, and the third web 95, these three webswhen formed into the package 40 become respectively the second sheet 42,the first sheet 41, and the stiffener 46.

The first web 93, the second web 94, and the third web 95 are broughtinto substantially parallel, juxtaposed alignment, such that the edge ofthe third web 95 is near to but does not extend beyond the edges of thefirst web 93 and the second web 94. At this point several operations arecarried out concurrently. The first web '93 is heatsealed to the secondWeb 94 in selective areas to form the compartment 43. This can beaccomplished by heatsealing means shown schematically as blocks 98, 99.The third web 95 is heat-sealed to the first web 93 and the second web94. The compartment 43 is filled with a spreadable material via conduit97 from a source not shown. In this manner the package is provided witha compartment portion 44 and a spreader portion 45. To facilitatesubsequent separation of the spreader portion from the compartmentportion 44, a line of weakness 100 is formed between the two portions44, 45 of the package 40. The packages 40 thus produced in a continuousstrip can, be severed from one another by any suitable cutter means (notshown) or may be left in roll form, separated from one another by a lineof weakness 101.

The steps of the above-described method of the present inventionillustrated in FIGURE 13 can be practiced in any order which willproduce the desired results. Thus, the lines of weakness 100, 101 may beformed concurrently with or subsequent to the last scaling step.

Examples of heat-sealable materials contemplated for use in the presentinvention include cellophane, cellulose acetate, nylon, pliofilm,polyesters, polyethylene in a variety of densities, polypropylene,polystyrene, polyvinyl chloride, homopolymers and copolymers of allvarieties, for example, the copolymer of vinyl chloride and vinylidenechloride (Saran). The primary requirements for selecting a suitablematerial are: (1) that it is heatsealable at temperatures convenientlymaintained in the apparatus, (2) that it does not chemically react in anundesirable manner with the material 35 to be placed in the packages 20,40, 60, 70, and (3) that it has sufficient strength in the thicknessesin which it is economically employed. 1 l i The sheets 21, 22, 41, 42,71, 72 and consequently the webs 81, 83, 93, 94 can be formed of any ofthe abovementioned heat-sealable materials, mixtures of compatiblematerials orcopolymers of appropriate monomers. The above-describedsheets and webs can be homogeneous substrates r laminates of two or morelaminae. In the construction of laminates any of the above-describedheat-scalable materials can be combined with non-heatsealable materials,as for example metals such as aluminium or tin or non-metals such aspaper of all types.

The stiffeners 24, 46, 66, 76 and consequently the webs 86 and 95 ofstiffener material can be formed of any of the above-describedcombinations of materials. A particularly suitable material for use asthe above-described stiffener is paper having a thickness of from about5 to about mils, but thinner or thicker paper may be used if itpossesses the desired flexibility and ragidity. The paper can be coatedon one or both sides with any of the previously described heat-scalablematerials, or heat-sealable fibers mayv be used in its manufacture torender the resultant product heat-scalable. In any event, any means bywhich the stiffener is rendered heat-scalable will suffice] Inembodiments of the present invention represented by the packages 20, 60,and 70, in which only one side of the stiffener 24, 66, or 76 isattached to the package, it is sufficient if only one side of thestiffener is rendered heatscalable as by a coating of heat-scalablematerial. While such a material is suflicient for use in embodiments ofthe present invention represented by the package 40, it is greatlypreferred to use a stiffener material which is heatsealable on bothsides in order that the stiffener 46 will be heat-sealed to both thefirst sheet 41 and the second sheet 42. 7

From the foregoing it is seen that paskages and methods of the presentinvention represent an important advance in the art and that manymodifications of this invention can be made without departing from thespirit and scope thereof.

What is claimed is:

. 1. A package comprising:

(a) a hermetically sealed compartment having compartment walls ofheat-scalable, flexible material, said compartment adapted to contain aspreadable material; and

, v a a t (b) a stiffener attached to at least one wall or" saidcompartment, said stiffener constituting means for inhibiting bending ofthe package to a degree whereby an end of the package can be pressedagainst a substrate to evenly spread the spreadable material thereon andwherein said stiffener extends from one edge of the package to theopposite edge and is positioned so that the center line-of the stiffeneris substantially coincident with the center line of the package.

2. The package of claim 1 wherein the walls of said compartment comprisea first sheet of substantially planar, heat-sealable material and asecond sheet of the same or different,substantially planar,heat-scalable material.

3. The package of claim 2 wherein the compartment is defined byselective heat-sealed areas between said first and second sheets.

4. The package of claim 1 further comprising:

(a) an outlet in at least one of said compartment walls;

and

(b) a cover having a coating of pressure-sensitive adhesive coveringsaid outlet. 1

5. The package of claim 4 in which the outlet comprises a separate anddiscrete portion of the sheet, attached to the sheet by at least onerelatively small bridging attachment.

6. The package of claim 5 in which the separate and discrete portion issubstantially circular and is attached to the sheet by two relativelysmall bridging attachments at the top and the bottom of the outlet.

7. The package of claim 1 wherein said stiffener is attached to one ofsaid compartment walls, and wherein said compartment walls extendequidistantly beyond said stiflener.

8. The package of claim 4 wherein said cover extends across the entirepackage.

9. A rectangular package of claim 1 comprising:

(a) a hermetically sealed compartment having compartment walls ofheat-scalable, flexible material, said compartment adapted to contain aspreadable material; and

(b) a relatively narrow stiffener in that the width of the stiffener isless than that of the package attache-d to at least one wall of saidcompartment and having its longer dimension parallel to the longerdimension of the rectangular package, wherein said compartment wallsextend equidistantly beyond said stiffener.

10. The package of claim 1 wherein the stiffener is paper having athickness of about 5 to about 20 mils.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS I 2,517,027 8/1950 Rado 401-1832,946,434 7/1960v Brina. 3,090,071 5/1963 Le Brody 401266 3,098,6017/1963 Anderson et al. 3,159,096 12/1964 Tocker 222107 X 3,246,4444/1966 Paisley 222107 X 3,258,169 6/1966 Paisley 222-107 3,259,3037/1966 Repko 229-66 LAWRENCE CHARLES, Primary Examiner.

US. Cl. X.R.

